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Resource Spotlight: A5 Sound Cards

Sound Waves Literacy 21/10/22

From playing games to creating a sound wall and more, let’s explore some of the ways you can take your spelling lessons to the next level with the Sound Waves A5 Sound Cards!

1. Sound wall

Use the 43 Sound Icon or Sound Box Cards as headers for your sound wall (we recommend separating the vowel and consonant sounds). A sound wall is a classroom display that organises words around the 43 phonemes of Australian English. This replaces a traditional word wall that organised words by the 26 letters of the alphabet. On a traditional word wall, kite and knife would both be listed under the letter ‘k’, which required students to know how the word was spelled before being able to locate it on the wall. A sound wall should be a living, growing display that is regularly added to by students throughout the year.

2. Whole-class game

Whole-class games are ideal for both introducing focus sounds and consolidating concepts throughout the week. Here’s an example of just one of the many whole-class games you can play with the A5 Sound Cards.

Sound Battle

Players
Whole class (two teams)


Aim of the Game
To be the first team to sit down.

What You’ll Need
Foundation or Standard Sound Box Cards (A5).

How to Play

1. Divide the class into two teams. Each team lines up single file facing the board.
2. Nominate one student to be the captain of each team who stands at the front of the line.
3. Ask team captains to draw one card each.
4. Attach each of the selected cards to the board.
5. Starting with the team captain, each student must say a word containing their team’s focus phoneme.
6. If a student says a correct word, they sit down beside their team’s line. If a student says an incorrect word, they move to the back of their team’s line.
7. If a student cannot think of a word, they can choose to use the ‘Ask the captain’ option and the captain provides a word. Each team may only use the ‘Ask the captain’ option three times in one round. The first team to sit down wins the game.

Note: To avoid students getting stuck on the phoneme , you may wish to remove that card from the set.


3. Small group game

Like whole-class games, small group games are a great boost to your weekly routine – particularly useful to play during group rotation sessions. Here’s just one example of a small-group game you can play with the A5 Sound Cards.

Sound Box Card Challenge

Players
Small groups (or whole class)


Aim of the Game
To earn points by spelling words using given phonemes.

What You’ll Need
Foundation or Standard Sound Box Cards (A5), notebook/paper and pencils.

How to Play

1. Select and display two cards.
2. Students write as many words as possible containing both phonemes.
3. Award one point for each correctly spelled word.

Variation: For an extra challenge, use three cards instead of two.

4. Door display

Display the A5 Sound Icon or Sound Box Cards near the door of your classroom to keep parents up to date with the phoneme their child is learning. The cards make a great display and are quick and easy to change. You can also ask students to articulate the sound as they pass by the card or say a word containing the focus phoneme as a fun entry pass!

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